Damaged
by BookwormKiwi
Summary: Cameron's new love interest has Chase seething.
1. Chapter 1

Damaged

Disclaimer: Ahhh…do I have to go through this?

* * *

"Dr Chase?" Cameron stood in front of him nervously.

The doctor looked up at her over his newspaper, and smiled warmly, but that only made Cameron tug her hair anxiously.

"Bad news, as usual," Dr Chase said conversationally, folding up his paper and setting it down to his left. "Reporter's don't like good news; it's not interesting enough."

He placed his elbows on the desk, and rested his head on his clasped hands.

"What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if…" She swallowed. "…if you'd like to meet me for dinner on Saturday."

Dr Chase didn't say anything, but his eyebrows rose a few inches.

"I, uh…I shouldn't've said…" Cameron turned to leave.

"OK."

"OK?"

"OK."

Cameron gave a shy smile.

"See you then, Rowan."

Chase stepped away from the door as Cameron burst out. She started to hurry down the hall, but stopped abruptly and turned to face Chase.

"You didn't…"

Chase nodded dumbly. Cameron pointed a warning finger, while hissing,

"Not a word."

"I can't believe it," Chase exploded in the Diagnostics office, after making sure that Foreman was the only other occupant.

"What can't you believe?" Foreman asked, clearly not interested, as he hadn't put down his medical journal.

"My _dad_ is going out with the girl I like."

"You don't mean Cameron," Foreman laughed, still not looking up, knowing he was about to be corrected. He wondered when Chase had gotten _over_ Cameron.

"Yes, I mean Cameron," Chase said, scowling heavily as he dropped into a chair.

Foreman's attention snapped from a case of wrongly diagnosed TB to the source of Chase's bad mood very quickly.

"Whoa. Slow down, and say that again."

This time, he wanted to be fully focused on Chase's words.

"Slowly!" he instructed as Chase opened his mouth impatiently.

"My dad's going out with Cameron," he stated angrily.

"He asked her out?" Foreman cried, before adding disbelievingly, "and she _accepted_?"

"No," Chase said bitterly. Foreman relaxed. He knew Cameron wouldn't-

"_She_ asked _him_ out."

* * *

A/N: This crazy crazy idea came to me after my friend (Japanese Geisha Doll) told me I needed a twist to my other story, saying that Cameron shouldn't go out with either Chase or House. Of course, I didn't want too much weirdness in that story, so made a new one instead, to accommodate this thought.

Depending on whether people like it, I may not continue. One good review is enough.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Ok, to those who liked this fic, many apologies for the slow update. You can thank Belle for pushing me to keep going. For those of you who don't like this fic, many apologies for continuing. You can flame Belle for pushing me to keep going.

I honestly don't know what to do next.

* * *

What Cameron hadn't counted on in the next couple of days following was the tension between her and Chase. Whenever she looked over at him, he glanced away. Whenever she called out to him, he pretended not to hear.

Cameron had no idea why he was acting like this. It wasn't like she – no, on second thoughts, she could understand it. She imagined it would be a little weird to work with your Dad's girlfriend – although she wouldn't go as far to call herself that just yet.

The argument that he was old enough to be her father rang particularly true in this case. But Cameron had never been one to live by the rules laid down by society. At least, that's what she liked to think.

She also hadn't realised how quickly it would spread around. Already, House was making jibes about it, and Forman had tried to talk her out of it twice.

"Cameron," he'd said seriously, and she'd immediately know what was coming. "Are you actually--"

"Yes," she'd cut him off. "I am. Are you going to lecture me?"

"I'm not going to lecture you," he said exasperatedly, before lecturing her. "Have you thought about this? Have you considered how it's going to affect your relationship with Chase?"

Cameron had sighed and let him continue without interruption. He enjoyed doing this, she could tell.

"All I'm trying to say," he concluded, "is that maybe you should think again about this. There's still time before Saturday."

Cameron had smiled and agreed to think about it.

The second time, Foreman had been more firm.

"This really isn't fair on Chase."

Cameron had scowled. "I hope you've been talking to his dad as well."

"You were the one who initiated it," he pointed out. "How are you going to work with him?"

"I'm not marrying the guy!" she'd stressed. "It's not that big a deal."

"Then maybe you shouldn't go. It'd probably be better for Chase."

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Why do you care, anyway? How does this involve you?"

"I work with both you and Chase," he'd said. "If you two stop talking to each other--"

"Not going to happen," Cameron had said confidently.

"Already has," Foreman had said, and eyebrow raised pointedly.

* * *

"Chase!"

Chase recognised Cameron's voice and turned away. "Could you do the rest of this?" he asked a nurse at the station apologetically, holding out an almost completed form and a pen. She frowned at him, but took them both. He briefly smiled his thanks, and strode off.

"Chase, please!"

Chase looked for somewhere to escape quickly. He had the choice of an exam room or a passageway that would take him to a block of offices. Noticing the file in the exam room door's holder, he slipped it out, went in, and shut the door.

"Good morning." He flashed a smile at the sickly patient and wished he'd checked the file before coming in. The patient smiled weakly back at him. She opened her mouth but didn't get a chance to speak, as Cameron burst in.

"Chase!"

"With a patient," he said through gritted teeth, not looking at her.

"Need a consult."

"Can this wait?" he asked her, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. Cameron pause, her hand still on the door handle. She seemed to wilt a little.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said, and closed the door gently behind her. Chase turned back to his patient and gave a tight-lipped smile.

* * *

"Just don't forget to take them," Chase said, handing his patient a prescription sheet. She acknowledged him with a nod. She hadn't said much throughout the exam, and Chase feared it was because she was close to throwing up.

Chase went over to the door and held it open for his patient.

"Thanks," she croaked, and Chase replied with a, "No problem."

Chase walked out after her and shut the door.

"You were in there for a while," Cameron said from behind him, making him jump. "What were you doing?"

"Diagnosing a patient. Why are you following me?"

"I'm not following you," she said, then followed him to the nurse's station where she'd found him before. She sounded a bit breathless as she attempted to keep up with him. "I just want to talk to you."

"I know you do," he said shortly, "but I don't want to talk to you."

Cameron stopped, but Chase didn't notice until she called out to him, quite clearly, yet quietly at the same time. "It's that how it's always going to be?"

Chase didn't want to turn around but he valued his relationship with Cameron too much to leave now, knowing their current status of avoiding each other wouldn't change if not resolved now.

"What do you want to say?" He folded his arms across his chest, facing her squarely. She was standing a few feet away from him, but as there was a little activity going on around them, she probably felt it would be better to come closer so she could lower her voice. His stance weakened as she drew nearer, but he hoped she wouldn't notice. Standing in front of Chase, Cameron hesitated. Chase wondered if it was because she didn't know what to say, or because she didn't know how to say it.

"Look--"

"Get to the point," Chase said sharply. He regretted opening his mouth a moment later when Cameron once again struggled to find her words.

"Are you ok with this?" she asked finally. Chase smiled bitterly.

"Yeah, it's no problem," he said, mockingly lightly. "You have fun with my dad. You'd make an excellent step mum."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey, guys, flames hurt, ok? I don't mind telling me you don't like it, but you really have to tell me why. To Liz, you said my writing's bad. Why's it bad? What's wrong with it? How can I improve it? The whole deal with fanfic is that most of us aren't published authors. Keep that in mind when you review. We're all aiming to get better. We all _want_ to get better. If you can see how you can help, please do!

Ok/rant, sorry.

Oh, and by the way, I've just realised something: pretend that Rowan doesn't have a wife, ok?

* * *

Foreman seemed to take delight in watching Cameron and Chase trying to avoid talking to each other. He never sat back and looked on in amusement, per se, but there was a smug air about him, and he couldn't resist a 'told you' smile when Chase refused to acknowledge a mug of coffee she'd poured out for him.

"Don't you think you're being a bit childish? Chase?"

Chase didn't respond. Cameron sighed and put the coffee down beside him.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, and left the room.

As she walked away, Cameron decided that she didn't have anything to be sorry for. She could expect an 8 year old to be possessive of his father, and not give a woman a chance. Hell, she could even forgive a 16 year old for acting this way. But a 20-something year old man?

The more Cameron thought about it, the more annoyed she got. Chase was being completely unfair. It was his problem, not hers.

It was cooler than she'd expected outside. A hint of a morning chill was still hanging in the air, though it would no doubt give way to the afternoon sun before long. Cameron noticed a tree that hadn't been there before, barely more than a seedling. It couldn't have been long since it was planted; there were still mounds of freshly overturned earth surrounding it. Cameron breathed in the cold air and felt her anger seep out. It was a too beautiful day to be mad, even if Cameron had to draw her coat tighter.

Cameron crossed the road, running between breaks of cars. Looking at her watch, she decided she was probably due back at the office. She turned around, caught sight of Rowan Chase, and promptly walked off the path, into the parking lot of a large building.

She hadn't really spoken to Rowan since she'd asked him out, not about anything but their patient, and not without someone else in the room. She didn't want to admit it, but she really wasn't looking forward to Saturday evening. She was already uncomfortable being anywhere near Rowan.

Damn Chase, she thought, kicking a stone and watching it bounce along the cemented ground. He's already ruined my date.

She looked up and was confronted by a smartly dressed young man.

"Whoops, sorry," he said, stopping short. "Are you looking for something?"

Cameron smiled nervously back at him, hoping he wouldn't ask what she was doing here.

"No, thanks, I'm fine."

He nodded briefly and side-stepped her, but not without a backwards glance, Cameron noticed. Not wanting to bump into anyone with a more security conscious mind, she left the parking lot, checking carefully around for a sign of Rowan.

The walk back to the hospital was quicker than the walk away, maybe because she had somewhere to go.

A wave of warmth swept her up as she entered the hospital. Something clattered noisily to her right, but she didn't bother sparing a glance. Riding up in the lift, she decided she'd talk to Chase. Again. So she hadn't been very successful in the past couple of days, but she guessed persistence was the key.

"Chase, what's--"

She looked around the room. There was no sign of any of the boys. She walked towards the whiteboard, noticing a thin line through sarcoidosis. On the table sat a mug, filled with untouched coffee.

Cameron felt like crying.

* * *

Chase's heart felt like it was going to explode. He hadn't really used the hospital gym before, but he'd remembered how one of his college friends always used to workout when he was angry. It wasn't really working for Chase, unless it was meant to make him feel too tired to be able to feel his legs, let alone his emotions.

Chase wasn't sure why the hospital kept a gym in it with a sign on the door reading 'Staff Only'. He'd had to search for the light switch when he'd come in. Obviously his department was the only one where they waited for their patient to get sicker.

"Chase?"

Chase looked up, surprised, but not annoyed, to see Cameron.

"How'd you know I was here?" he puffed.

"Saw the light on." Her voice was very tentative, as if she were scared she would snap at her. Not an unfair assumption, Chase thought guiltily. "There's not normally anyone in here."

"Yeah, I just…um…" he faltered, not really wanting to say any more. "What do you want?"

Cameron tested her weight on a piece of equipment Chase didn't know the name of, and sat down on it.

"Are you going to listen to me?" she asked him calmly, trying to read the tiny instructions titled 'To use' printed on a sign beside her, as if she didn't really care what the answer was.

Chase breathed out slowly, still trying to get his lungs working properly.

"Yes." He hoped he didn't sound like he was sulking.

Cameron's gaze met his, and Chase was surprised to see a look of nonchalance in her eyes.

"Are you going to yell at me?" she asked him.

"No," he replied, a little indignantly, even though he realised he wasn't really allowed to be cross.

"Ok," she said simply. Chase expected her to continue, but she stayed silent. He wasn't sure whether it was his turn to speak, so decided to wait for her. Cameron was still gazing at him pensively. Cameron seemed a bit dejected, Chase thought. It was her posture that told him, more than anything else. As if she'd really like to go home and sleep away her troubles.

Chase pulled himself out of his thoughts, quietly disturbed he was analysing her so far.

"Why are you mad at me?" she said finally. She still wouldn't look away, and Chase found himself become unnerved by her stare.

"I'm not mad at you," he said unconvincingly, trying to decide whether it was true or not.

"Yeah you are. I'm not asking _if_, I'm asking _why_." She wasn't asking anything in that statement, but Chase didn't know what to say. He shuffled uncomfortably.

"Look, Chase," Cameron sighed. "I've been thinking about you."

Chase felt his heart skip a beat – something he tried to ignore – and he swallowed nervously. Oblivious to his unease, Cameron carried on.

"And I just can't figure out what's wrong." Cameron's brow creased in concern. "Why are you so protective of your dad? Is that the only reason you're not talking to me?"

"Hey, I'm talking to you now, aren't I?"

Cameron frowned impatiently. Chase lowered his gaze.

"There's nothing more to it," he muttered defensively.

"Yes there is," Cameron persisted impatiently. "You can't say--"

"Drop it, Cameron," he said sharply, looking up and glaring at her. She opened her mouth to protest, but Chase managed to silence her – how, he wasn't sure. He wondered if his eyes were flaming red or something – and instead, she went back to staring at him intently. It was clear she wasn't going to leave without an answer. Chase, on the other hand, didn't want to give her one. Hell, he didn't know _what_ the answer was.

Chase stood up abruptly, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Alarmed, Cameron got up too.

"Just forget about it," he said fiercely, looking back briefly over his shoulder.

"What do you mean, _forget_?" Cameron cried in frustration, but Chase let the door swing shut.


End file.
